DEAR MISS MANNERS: My mom is a really candy and type grandmother to my 3-year-old woman. She all the time has presents once we go to, asks for brand spanking new footage and may be very invested in my daughter’s life.
Nevertheless, one factor irks me: She makes use of the fallacious spelling of our daughter’s nickname.
Every time she writes, “How’s Lucie doing?” I reply with one thing like, “Lucy is doing well.” She additionally places the wrong spelling on Christmas and birthday reward tags.
Her coronary heart is clearly in the appropriate place, however her spelling shouldn’t be.
Is that this not value worrying about, because it’s solely a nickname? How else can I gently right her with out coming off as impolite or offending her?
GENTLE READER: “We know it’s only a nickname, but we’re spelling it ‘Lucy.’ Your version is cute, but we don’t want to confuse her as she gets old enough to spell it herself.”
Miss Manners warns you to not be stunned if Lucy quickly comes up along with her personal creative spelling — which can or might not embody hearts and smiley faces. Or turn into “Lucie.”
DEAR MISS MANNERS: Our home makes use of an digital door code as an alternative of a key and lock.
Our family know the code, from occasions after they wanted to entry our dwelling with out us there — for example, choosing up provides for us whereas we had been within the hospital, or attending to the home earlier than us for a dinner when the climate was dangerous.
Exterior of occasions resembling these, when is it acceptable for them to make use of the code?
GENTLE READER: None occasions. As a result of they then remodel from useful family to scary intruders.
DEAR MISS MANNERS: If somebody comes downstairs within the morning, who must be the one to say “hello” (or “good morning,” and so on.) first: the one already downstairs, or the one who comes down and enters the room?
Is it gender-specific? Say, the person comes downstairs and the girl is already there, or vice versa? Or does that even matter?
GENTLE READER: It doesn’t. There is no such thing as a hierarchy to saying “good morning.” Moderately it’s the duty of the primary one who notices the opposite and ideally makes eye contact.
Shock greetings from behind when one is making sizzling espresso or bacon shouldn’t be, Miss Manners assures you, as cute as you could assume.
DEAR MISS MANNERS: I used to be at work and I needed to go to the washroom in a rush. I occur to have a shy bladder.
A colleague of mine — not one I’m notably near — stood outdoors my stall and began telling me intimately about her newest medical points and prescriptions.
I couldn’t produce. This was extraordinarily irritating. I needed to wait till she lastly left.
Why do individuals do this? Appears to me silence is golden in a public washroom, and privateness is the order of the day. How would you might have dealt with the state of affairs?
GENTLE READER: By saying, “Sorry, I’m having trouble hearing you. I will be better equipped to listen when I am finished in here.”
Please ship your inquiries to Miss Manners at her web site, www.missmanners.com; to her e-mail, [email protected]; or by postal mail to Miss Manners, Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas Metropolis, MO 64106.
